“Underdeck” power take off (PTO) driven air compressor units are a common feature in utility vehicles. Mounting an air compressor to the vehicle undercarriage beneath the deck eliminated the need for separate tow behind air compressors. The PTO provisions on conventional utility truck transmissions allow side mounted PTO units to power undercarriage mounted air compressors. However, the functional space available for locating an underdeck air compressor unit in a typical utility vehicle is limited by the various vehicle structures and components, such as, frame members, fuel lines, exhaust pipes, electrical wiring and the various other components, devices and apparatus used in utility vehicles. Typically, an under deck air compressor unit is remotely mounted to the vehicle frame and undercarriage and connected to the side mounted PTO unit on the vehicle transmission by a separate drive shaft. Often a gear box is needed inserted into the drive line to reduce the gear ratio between the PTO output drive and the air compressor's input drive. Because of space restrictions and undercarriage obstruction, it is often difficult to operably connect an underdeck air compressor with the PTO unit using a conventional drive line and gear box.
The present invention combines the PTO unit, gear box and air compressor into an integral unit, which eliminates the need for a separate drive line. The PTO/gearbox/compressor combination is directly mounted to and supported from the side PTO provision of the vehicle transmission. The integrated combination of the PTO unit, gearbox and air compressor provides a small footprint for underdeck applications. Integrally mounting the combination to the transmission also reduces the installation difficulties by reducing fluid lines and consolidating component location. The gearbox is lubricated by splash lubrication from fluids circulated from the air compressor under differential pressure.
Theses and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.